


In this lifetime, and the next

by iloveitblue



Series: Prompts [349]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Reincarnation!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 20:35:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6023746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveitblue/pseuds/iloveitblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where they met each other lifetimes ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In this lifetime, and the next

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he saw glimpses of lives that aren’t his. A smile that made his heart race. A laugh that calmed his every anxiety. Eyes that made the sky seem pale. 

He thought he might be in love with the person he saw in his dreams but that wasn’t possible, right? It was downright absurd; falling for someone you’ve never met, never mind know.

Still, Clint can’t help it. 

Every time he’s in a relationship, he always ends up comparing a person to what was essentially a figment of his imagination. Whether he was doing it subconsciously or not was a different matter all together. None of the people he’s ever dated even came close to the person in Clint’s dreams. 

That is, until he met Phil Coulson. 

Phil Coulson was different in that Clint never pursued him. He never even considered him. He was just Clint’s handler and, when he’s not that, a friend. They went out, bought some drinks, played some pool, shared laughs, and had fun. 

It was easy being with Phil. Almost like Clint’s been with him his whole life. 

He knew Phil more than he knew the back of his hand; even the tiniest detail - the way he scrunched up his nose at his screen when something particularly bad was stressing him out, the way he always put two sugars in his coffee except for when he hasn’t slept, the way he always brings a tumbler to the office but never really drinks from it, because it’s secretly vodka - and wasn’t that just weird?

To Clint, it wasn’t. It felt natural. It felt like he was always supposed to have this knowledge. To know these things about Phil. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with it until Natasha pointed it out, saying something like, “You didn’t even know your ex like this. Hell, you don’t even know me like this.” 

To which, Clint replied with, “Well, you never give away anything, so.”

Natasha rolled her eyes at him then, as if giving up trying to get it into his head that this wasn’t in the realm of normalcy anymore. Clint had huffed a laugh but in the back of his head, a question started stirring, 

_What if she’s right?_

Then that turned into _What if Phil doesn’t even know when my birthday is?_

And _that_  spiraled to _What if I’m the only one wh_ _o noticed things about him?_

And then, _What if he finds out? Will he hate me?_

Then, _Am I in love with him?_

Finally, very softly, he thought, _shit._

_—_

They’re somewhere in Europe when it happened.

“That looks sturdy.” Clint joked, as they stood on the small hill, overlooking the remains of what used to be a castle. 

“It should be, if it’s been standing here for hundreds of years undisturbed.” Phil threw back easily.

“Are you sure you read the map right?” 

“I wasn’t the one reading the map.” Phil raised an eyebrow at him as they both stepped through what used to probably be the front door. Debris and a few standing pillars remained now. There weren’t even any walls. Just piles of dust and rocks. “The signal is coming from here, so start looking for something unusual.” Phil told him, stepping over a beam broken in a few places.

“You mean, like a castle in the middle of nowhere?” 

“More like an archer in the twenty-first century.” Phil quipped.

Clint winced and laughed. “That hurts me, Coulson. Truly, Deeply.” 

Whatever it was Phil replied, Clint didn’t hear. He was too busy staring at the medallion buried under a few rocks. He would’ve missed it, if it weren’t for the moon’s light, reflecting off of it. 

Carefully, he dug through the debris and picked it up. It was small, and round, about the size of a penny, golden with a green stone in the middle. It was a little beat up, but nothing spit shine couldn’t fix. He turned the medallion over to see an inscription there. 

It was in a language Clint has never seen before, but for some reason, he could read it.

_Souls, once entwined, will find each other even through time._

“Clint- what-”

Clint turned around to find Phil missing. Well, more than Phil was missing - the debris was gone, the forest, the _moon_. Instead, Clint stood inside what looked like the set for Merlin. People in period clothes, a blacksmith not too far away, a boy carrying two pails of water with a long stick on his back. 

Clint looked awfully out of place with his tac gear, but nobody seemed to notice him. Clint was still trying to figure out how to react, when somebody walked through him, literally walked through him, like he wasn’t even really there. 

And the weirdest part - it was him. Or at least someone who looked like him. 

Clint moved before his mind could process it, following his doppelganger towards the blacksmith.

“Phillip.” His doppelganger said, making the guy carrying the scabbards turn around. 

Clint’s breath hitched. It was him. It was the person in his dreams. Everything about this moment made every fiber of his being scream, ‘ _This is it!’_  

And it was Phil.

Clint had only blinked, but he’s in front of a tree now, and the sun had long since set. He’s standing under the tree with Phil- Phillip, bow slung across his chest, and they’re talking. Clint can’t hear what they’re talking about, but they seem to be fighting. Clint saw himself reach into a small pouch, pulling something out. 

It was the medallion. 

“If I had a choice, I’d stay. But I’ll come back. I’ll find you again. And when I do, we’ll build our own castle right here. I promise.” He put the medallion around Phillip’s neck, “Wear this always, and know that even if I die tomorrow, I’ll still find you in the next life. and even after.” He kissed the top of Phillip’s head, then wiped away his tears, before leaving Phillip standing there. 

Clint itched to reach out, to wipe away the tears left in Phillip’s eyes, but before he could, he’s back where he started, and right in front of him was Phil, looking worried and a little panicked. 

“Are you okay? What happened?” Phil asked. 

Clint looked down at the medallion and then back up at Phil. He shook his head softly and presented the medallion to Phil. “I thought I told you to always wear this?” 

“What are you-” Clint had put the medallion around Phil’s neck before he could even finish the question. Clint watched as the Phil grew dazed, staring at one point for about five minutes, before his eyes started dilating again. 

Phil sucked a breath in, as he looked at Clint. They were silently watching each other, until Phil finally said, “You found me.” 

Clint smiled, holding Phil’s face in his hand, “I promised.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Here on tumblr](http://promptmephlint.tumblr.com/post/139370138981/i-actually-wrote-this-yesterday-but-halfway-my)


End file.
